Geena Levine ‘21
Photo Editor
Step Club is a newly formed club on Merrimack College’s campus. The club began in the fall 2018, which means it has been going strong for a full year. The club currently has a total of 18 members, but they are still welcoming new members.
“Step” is a form of percussive dance. The choreography is created by the 3 captains of the club. Step Club competed in a regional competition last year where they placed third out of 15 teams. They are planning on competing in 2-3 more competitions over the course of this year, one being in New York City for regionals this spring.
The club participates in many events on campus, including Macktoberfest in 2019, Midnight Madness in 2018, the talent show in 2018, two half time performances at basketball games in 2018, and a Black history event last year. The club will also be doing a halftime performance on December 11 for the Men’s Basketball game as well as performance at Relay for Life this year in April.
Many of their performances have themes. Last year at one of their events they had a theme of “warriors” and they wore military outfits. This year at Macktoberfest their theme was “homecoming” and their costumes referenced Beyonce’s outfit in the album “Homecoming.” For their upcoming halftime show, they will do an airport theme.
“We want people to know that we are all inclusive. You do not need experience beforehand to join,” said Step Club President Syandene Inniss. “The majority of the people [in Step Club] have never done anything close to step before. There are a ton of things you can participate in. We do not just practice and perform. We have a large array of things that we do in order to make sure everyone is included.”
The club is still looking to gain more exposure because it is still a pretty new club and not a lot of the Merrimack community know about them. Once they are able to expand more, they are hoping to be able to participate in more events on campus and grow the club.
Step Club also fundraises on campus to raise money for their organization. In the spring semester they are planning a showcase event where they will invite other Step Clubs from surrounding schools to participate. This event will allow for both Merrimack’s Step Club, and other step clubs to demonstrate their skills to an audience. They will have concessions and make tickets for Merrimack College students free, but charge for outside guests. With this event they hope to be able to raise more money for their organization so they can participate in more events and activities.
The club is actively accepting members and is open to both men and women. Practices are held in Studio 2 on Mondays from 7:00-9:00 p.m. and Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9:00-11:00 p.m.
President: Syandene Inniss (who I interviewed)
Before she graduates: she would like to see them gain more exposure because not a lot of people know about us, only know about them is when the perform, once they get their feet a little bit more wet it will expand — we are thinking about doing more events
More establishment as the group is concerned
Members – 18 members
What is step club? Step is a form of dance percussive dance, choreography comes from 3 captains — all of the step club members have done step before
What year did step club come to campus? 2018 officially the fall of 2018 – first full year
What would you like students to know about step club? We are all inclusive, you don’t need experience before hand, majority of the people have never done anything close to step before. There is a ton of things you can participate in, we don’t just practice and perform we have a large array of things to make sure everyone is included — in the stands they would come up with cheers
Fundraising events – showcase coming up inviting other schools to perform — in the spring in the feb — planning on having concessions and students here will be free and everyone else will have to pay
Compete in competitions, they have done 1 local (placed 3rd out of 15 teams) one last year and this year they are doing 2- 3 — competing in nyc for regionals in spring — most of the performances are themed, last year they had a theme of warriors and they wore military outfits and this year mecktoberfest was a homecoming theme and they went off beyonce homecoming
For the halftime show coming up the theme is airport style
It’s not as intense group and its not as intense as people think it is, its more fun during practice times than anything
Basically anyone can join everyone on the spectrum is apart of the group
Do you participate in any events on campus, or are planning to? Mecktoberfest in 2019 , midnight madness in 2018, talent show in 2018, 2 half time performances at basketball games in 2018, black history event last year, will be doing the halftime on dec 11 for men’s basketball game– performance at relay for life this year in april
Men and females can join
Actively accepting members — all year round — word of mouth — practice monday 7-9 – wednesday and tuesday 9-11 held in studio 2 — at first you would spectate a practice, and then if you want to join you can — no tryouts they just go based off interest and what the person’s level is and give them the opportunity to learn the material
